An appellate court may review acquittals but must respect the trial court's findings if deemed reasonable and should maintain the presumption of innocence for the accused.

JUDGMENT :

S.V. Pinto, J.

1. This appeal has been filed by the appellant State under Section 378(1)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the judgement and order of acquittal passed by learned 3^rd Additional Sessions Judge (Special) Judge, Mahesana at Visnagar (hereinafter referred to as "the learned Trial Court") in Special (Atrocity) Case No. 07 of 2012 on 16.05.2013, whereby, the learned Trial Court has acquitted the respondents for the offence punishable under Sections 323 , 324, 504, 506(2) and 114 of INDIAN PENAL CODE , 1860 (hereafter referred to as "IPC" for short) and Section 3(i)(ix) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as “Atrocities Act”).

1.1 The respondents are hereinafter referred to as the accused in the rank and file as they stood in the original case for the sake of convenience, clarity and brevity.

2. The brief facts that emerge from the record of the case are as under:-

2.1 On 14-01-2012, the complainant - Nareshbhai Mohanbhai Parmar (Chamar) went to the shop of the accused to buy a kite and asked the accused for the price of a kite. The accused No. 1 told him that one kite cost Rs.5/- and two kites would cost Rs.10/- and the complainant told him to give two kites for Rs.8/-. The accused got angry and started abusing the complainant and the complainant told them not to abuse him but the accused No. 2 took an iron crowbar from the shop and hit it on the behind portion of the head of the complainant and the accused Nos. 2 and 3 hit the complainant with fists. The accused also threatened to kill the complainant and hurled caste slurs against him and the complainant filed the complaint at Satlasana Police Station under Sections 323 , 324, 504, 506(2) and 114 of IPC and Section 3(i)(ix) of the Atrocities Act, which was registered at Satlasana Police Station I – C.R.No. 4 of 2012.

2.2 The Investigating Officer recorded the statements of the connected witnesses and seized the necessary documents and after completion of investigation, a chargesheet came to be filed before the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Satlasana and as the said offences against the accused was exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions, the case was committed to the Sessions Court, Mahesana as per the provisions of Section 209 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and case was registered Special (Atrocities) Case No. 07 of 2012.

2.3 The accused were duly served with the summons and the accused appeared before the learned Trial Court, and it was verified whether the copies of all the police papers were provided to the accused as per the provisions of Section 207 of the Code. A charge at Exh. 3 was framed against the accused and the statements of the accused were recorded at Exh. 4 to 6, wherein, the accused denied all the contents of the charge and the entire evidence of the prosecution was taken on record.

2.4 The prosecution produced fourteen oral evidences and ten documentary evidences to bring home charge against the accused and after the learned Additional Public Prosecutor filed the closing pursis at Exh. 39, the further statement of the accused under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 were recorded, wherein, the accused denied all the evidence of the prosecution on record. The accused refused to step into the witness box or examine witnesses on their behalf and state that a false case has been filed against them. After the arguments of the learned Additional Public Prosecutor and the learned advocate for the accused were heard, the learned trial Court by the impugned judg